nomatter what expensive analysis service you use, the Official statistics has much intended-error due to many local factors such as : cell phones may be signed-up to mark purchase point and held dormant until re-sale, or conglomerates might regularly give-away (Yes) their second-latest model WITHOUT catchy terms ..

thus Korea Tech BLog gives you numbers that is REAL, with added observation in classroom to the office, at gatherings, in restaurants, bus and trains .

where Apple iPhone usage in the whole South Korea as of October 2013 consist of mere 4% of total cell phone users .

this used to be much higher when Apple made its belated landing via iPhone 3GS, and peaked during iPhone 4 but have swiftly lost the tenacity since -_-

and I am posting this as I recognize a vast drop on iPhone usage from iPhone 5, introduced last December 2012 THREE Months after initial US release -_-

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[ Age Group ]

most are in 20’s and 30’s age-group because it is too expensive for teenagers, and /much/ inconvenient to over 40’s
– inconvenient in terms of how to tackle usage AND support factors, as most elders are used to near-absolute service at a support centre close to home or work (which SamSung AND LG provides, plus DaeWoo somewhat)

one or two students would stand-out using iPhone in high school

and in this consumer society : pre-teens know a beauty when they see one, thus yearn for the iPhone, so let’s see if Apple will provide some way for them 😉

usage in college largely depends upon how prestigeous the institiution is, as well as the major : differing from a tiny 3% in the whole school, to a good third of a single class ..

only 10% of employees in larger offices use iPhones

SamSung occupies 90% on over 40’s while absolutely 100% over 50’s

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[ Geographical ]

the bulk of iPhone users are concentrated in Metropolis SEOUL, that is including its Satellite Cities now quite broad

usage drops in multitude to scarce as you get further from KyungGiDo, nomatter whether if they are designated 2nd or 3rd Cities such as DaeGu, GwangJu or Busan or Pusan .

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[ SALES AND SUPPORT ]

price works big-time, because Galaxies drop quickly following initial release AND much more (or incomparable would be more adept) discount offered from cellular carriers (in conjunction with its manufacturer)

Apple can never, ever (OK give it 30-Years then) match the geographical coverage (because it is home-turf) or seemingly-kind support long-offered by local conglomerates, notably SamSung and LG Electronics – initially the designated technician try to the end until the customer is satisfied, nomatter original terms, and if this still don’t work the consumer can appeal to its reception personnel OR “customer satisfaction clerk” all which are made to belong to different departments .

explicitly-foreign warranty terms and repair procedures are covered many times over on this BLog, notably (in the order of their stay in Korea as well as notoriety)

Sony, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Apple whose support centres act as if they belong to an alien contingency – to which only die-hard fans follow,

versus Canon and HP who have long been comfortable with the Korean way of doing things, mainly due to their wide-coverage of office copy machines and business computer printers,

while Nikon, Panasonic, Fuji and Asus lingers some-where in the middle .

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[ Catalyst ]

against iPhone : the most difficult concept for Koreans to adapt is iTunes – by far, as its PC generation was borne from (manual) copied software, with the ritual of “automatic synchronizing” only implemented briefly when early adopters were using PDA’s .

pro-iPhone : still the most common reason to switch from Android is dependable, smooth seamless operation .

hacks don’t count here because both iPhone have them and Android with alternate market-places, and it is long-agree’d among iPhone users that a TRUE iPhone is an unhacked one, especially in use for business and banking “V”

against iPhone : screen size matters much also, as most are comfortable viewing videos on LCD screens mid-way between iPhone and iPad Mini .

against iPhone : quite a lot of users are used to home-bred capabilities available on local devices, offered in-tune with local cellular carriers such as : DMB broadcasting and two-phone-number option ..

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[ The Future ]

Korea Tech BLog is accustomed to expatriate life, as this Peninsula is only one among several so far, but will continue to relay first-person-view of this amazing battle in this Galaxy, even after relocating to Kobe, Adelaide, Banff, Aberdeen or Giverny .. as I cannot forget the pure joy Qualcomm, Sky and SamSung AnyCall has endowed me before iPhone .

current lower-than-expected usage works in a way for Apple, as a pristine device Bill Gates had originally intended, adept now Gold color is available for iPhone 5S, BUT short of becoming prestigious as Swarovski, hope they won’t have to retreat like WalMart did . while we are on Super-Marts : watch how limited CostCo is here yawn

I heard it through the Grape-Vine : this may rise to 7% with the coming-influx of iPhone 5C AND 5S .. yes perhaps a come-back and here again the trend-conscious Korean psyche works to the now-inferior Apple’s favour also – where its citizens try to be different among common jobs and hobbies ..

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– this Page is inspired by the time-travel science fiction ‘FlashFoward’ by Robert J.Sawyer –
and is exactly why I have begun to instigate : The Dark Side Page on top menu